School of Social Sciences (ETDs)

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10539/37995

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 73

Witchcraft management in the early twentieth century Transvaal
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016) Pearson, Joel David; Delius, Peter; Falkof, Nicky
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, colonial governments across Africa, including South Africa, promulgated laws which aimed to prohibit the accusation of witchcraft, methods for the detection of witches and witch trials. However, while administrators saw merely superstition in witchcraft beliefs, “repugnant to the standards of civilisation”, many Africans saw an integral element of the social and spiritual order. The policing of witchcraft beliefs became a thorn in the side of colonial rule. This article brings to light some of the deeper historical complexities in policing witchcraft by looking at the application of witchcraft law in the early twentieth century ‐ a neglected period in witchcraft scholarship. Firstly, it examines some prominent discursive constructions of the concepts of “witchcraft” and the “witch doctor” during the early twentieth century, two terms which feature centrally in colonial witchcraft legislation. It argues that these terms were shrouded in a great deal of misconception and, at times, fear. Secondly, it examines instances in which the Transvaal Witchcraft Ordinance No. 26 of 1904 was applied at the Supreme Court level, demonstrating that it was employed in a wide variety of instances which often shared only a tenuous link to poorly defined notions of “the supernatural”. Nevertheless, diviners seem to have been especially prejudiced in the implementation of the law. Finally, archival correspondence derived from Native Affairs Department files dealing with witchcraft are examined to reveal that the job of policing witchcraft was rather more uncertain and ad hoc at the grassroots level than official “civilising” rhetoric may have suggested. While in principle there was no compromising with beliefs in witchcraft, in practice, such beliefs had to be carefully managed by local officials, who were given (often uncomfortably) wide powers of discretion in deciding when and how to employ the force of the law.
Menstrual Hygiene and Management in Zamimpilo Riverlea Informal Settlement
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-08) Khofi, Lucy; Manderson, Lenore
Managing menstrual hygiene in low- and middle-income countries is difficult, due to lack of proper facilities. With inadequate WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services and infrastructure, such as proper working toilets and lack of access to sanitary materials, some women end up using unhygienic sanitary materials, such as rags, leaves, sand, tissues and so forth to manage menstruation. In this study, I used an anthropological approach to describe and analyse women’s understandings of menstrual health and hygiene in the informal settlement of Zamimpilo, Johannesburg. Firstly, I looked at how women understood menstruation and how this was influenced by community attitudes and social norms. Secondly, I identified what material, structural and normative factors hindered or enabled women to manage their menstruation and hygiene: shame, embarrassment, level of education, access to information, gender inequality, affordability of pads and soap, access to water, and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities. Thirdly, I explored women’s experiences of their bodies, and how menstruation influenced their decisions to go out, go to school, have sex, bathe with others, manage pain, and sleep. I looked also at the practices that women used to manage menstrual waste. As I illustrate, these practices are shaped by cultural, social, and religious factors. I have explored women’s creative ways to manage menstruation, menstrual waste, and hygiene under different conditions, and explored the extent to which they have internalised or resisted negative attitudes towards their bodies and bodily products. I emphasise women’s narratives. In theorising these questions, I have adapted ideas from Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas, and following her, I have analysed menstruation as something polluting and dirty that contributes to menstrual shame. I have also drawn on Emily Martin’s book The Woman in the Body (2001) and examined how social and cultural factors shape women’s understanding of themselves. The data on which this thesis was based is drawn from research using qualitative methods. Due to constraints in movement and social interactions associated with COVID-19, primary data were collected through telephonic semi-structured interviews. Twelve women – six young women between 18 and 25 years and six women between 25 and 40 years of age – were each interviewed twice, bringing the total number of in-depth interviews to 24. Participants were recruited through a key informant, using purposeful sampling for maximum variability to ensure diversity of age, ethnicity, religion, education background, among participants. This was significant given that the population of Zamimpilo was diverse and includes people from different provinces and communities: Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi and other South Africans all live in Zamimpilo, as well as people from other African countries including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Nigeria. My findings suggest that women’s MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management) in Zamimpilo is still a huge challenge. The environment is deeply compromised, and no residents have access to adequate housing, water and sanitation. These basic challenges, along with the lack of sanitary products, hinder women from managing their menstrual hygiene. However, I found that these women used alternatives to manage their MH (Menstrual Hygiene), including various herbs for menstrual hygiene purposes and to prevent urinary tract and reproductive tract infections. Women expressed various understandings of their bodies, menstrual blood and menstruation as a process. I describe how the South African Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has tried to address ‘period poverty’ in the country with the collaboration of non-government, non-profit organisations, the private sector, and menstrual activists. However, the need is greater than available resources. In places like Zamimpilo, women still do not receive any assistance from community organisations or from the state, and so they must improvise to manage this most private, routine, mundane event.
YouTube: Video Commercialization, Value Creation and Identity
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-12) Dlamini, Gabby Sipho; White, Hylton
Social media has been blamed for promoting unrealistic flashy lifestyles and an increase in influencer brand marketing. The outcome of this is said to put extreme pressure on individuals to maintain a certain lifestyle to the detriment of their self, promoting a performance of life rather than real life experiences, resulting in the breakdown of social bonds. Yet social media platforms such YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and many others are growing at considerable rates, despite all the critiques. The thesis overall questions how YouTube vloggers turn the intangible value of activities in everyday life into monetary income by attracting online audiences to their vlogs. The research is located as part of transformations taking place in late capitalism, that used to characterise the organisation of labour and, therefore, society in nineteenth and twentieth-century iterations of modern capitalist society; and the changing concepts of “private” and “public” that are described as part of the technological development and integration into our everyday lives. This thesis traces the changing structures and relationships between YouTube, YouTubers and viewers as the economy of YouTube has continued to grow. Whilst influencer brand marketing and social media reach are popularly viewed as detrimental to the individual and society, this thesis argues against this general view. Instead, I argue that in the wake of influencer marketing and the financial economies, embedded within YouTube and other social media, new ways of being and belonging are being negotiated. This thesis, using ethnographic data, focuses on these new ways of being and belonging by explaining how ideas of value, suspicion, affect, and digital footprint are factors in creating online community ties and online identities that continue inside and outside of the online space.
Governing Children in Street Situations in Pretoria: Vulnerability and Social Protection in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Matarise, Fungai
The vulnerability of children in post-Apartheid South Africa has been a major issue in social and development policy debates for decades now. Children are situated within the wider notion of “Vulnerable Groups” that is a central tenet in South African public and development policy discourse. This thesis examines the vulnerability of children in street situations as defined in the Children’s Act no. 38. of 2005. Children in street situations are a distinct category of vulnerable children that has experienced and continues to experience countless privations on the streets across South Africa. The issue of children in street situations raises fundamental questions about the political, economic and social aspects of inequality, marginality, and social exclusion in the post-Apartheid state. Hence, a central question in debates surrounding the interventions of state agencies on children in street situations is to consider how social and public policy articulate in concrete ways the country’s commitment to social inclusion, social justice and the fight against inequalities. Yet, with specific reference to children in street situations, little is known about the legal, material and practical governance of these category of children in South Africa. This study examines the governance of Children in Street Situations in Pretoria– the administrative capital of South Africa. The Department of Social Development (DSD) is the main provider for social interventions in the country, including in Pretoria. This is an exploratory study, based on my field research with informants at the Department of Social Development (DSD) and related organisations working on addressing the issue of Children in Street Situations. The study combines data from face to-face interviews with social workers at the DSD and telephone conversations with non governmental organisations (NGOs) personnel alongside textual analysis of official documents, policy reports and guidelines, legal provisions and media reports. Using discourse analysis and a post structural deconstructive approach, the thesis examines and unpacks the value and limits of vulnerability as a critical and core concept in understanding social protection in South Africa’s public and development policy. The thesis argues that a critical approach to the conceptualisation of vulnerability in South African public and development policy is important because it frames the legal and institutional responses to categories of people perceived to be in need of social protection, including children in street situations. The thesis develops this argument empirically by analyzing and discussing the representations of children in street situations in South Africa along mostly negative perceptions of these children and underlines how these representations are important to the framing and practice of social protection in aw, legislation and social policy. Furthermore, in discussing some of the social interventions for children in street situations and the challenges involved for DSD workers, this study also finds that the social problem of children in street situations is defined by ambiguity: among social workers at the DSD there are divergent views on whether these children exist and pose a policy challenge or not. Against a generic conceptualisation of children as similarly characterized by vulnerability, the thesis suggests that a further disaggregation of children in street situations as children in a specific social situation is necessary to appreciate their special vulnerabilities and needs. This fits a purposive response, more effective and targeted initiatives in care and protection that enhance their capabilities and well-being of children in street situations.
Controlled Existence in Zimbabwe and Beyond: Exploring Survivability in Shadows (2012) by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and The Border Jumper (2019) by Christopher Mlalazi
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-02) Makoni, Brightman; Nyanda, Josiah
This study considers existence and survivability as the particulars of transnational migration. Through critical engagement with Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s Shadows (2012) and Christopher Mlalazi’s The Border Jumper (2019), the research explores migrant lives in the context of transborder migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa. The chosen literary texts are analysed through the prism of typified migrant characters’ lives in Zimbabwe, South Africa and on the margins of both and on the borderlines, between societies and countries. Insights are drawn from the theory of intersectionality entwined with concepts of oppression, identity and habitus. The unified theoretical framework is applied on migrant characters’ trend of existing and surviving and how the trends expose power dynamics that play out in one’s mother country and beyond borders as a consequence of identity fluidity, place, space and time.
Experiences of Youth in Agrarian Transformation in Rural South Africa: A Case of Greenplanet Primary Cooperative in Orange Farm
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-03) Chibonore, Wilma Claris; Kariuki, Samuel
This thesis advanced a qualitative approach to analyse the practices, structures and rationalities that inform youth engagement in agriculture drawing on evidence from Orange Farm in Gauteng Province of South Africa. The study takes off on the premise that there is low generational renewal in agriculture as the older and ageing generation makes the majority of active farmers yet farming holds great potential for creating youth employment whilst youth engagement in agriculture secures food of the future. The study finds that youth (dis)engagement and (dis)interest in farming is directly related to the availability and easy access to everyday support structures particularly those provided by the state and observes that many young people are in fact interested in farming but are currently operating in a structurally disabling environment amidst poor state support which does not allow for growth or access to key resources. The study finds that youth interest in farming exists although these interests are largely skewed towards technologically advanced farming systems and against backward manual farming systems therefore contradicting existing discourse as well as challenging the general narrative and consensus that youths are not interested in farming or that youth interest in farming is waning. The thesis reveals that young farmers understanding, interpretation and engagement with agricultural technology is based on their levels of exposure, location and access to resources. Poverty, structural limitations and marginalization experienced by the youth contribute significantly to their reception and perception of agriculture as a whole. The thesis argues for an agrarian developmental state approach towards the strengthening of agricultural opportunities and the relevant institutional structures and resources such as land, stipends, extension services, training, technology and market allocation to support youth farming in rural South Africa where the economies are generally stagnant and youth unemployment very high. This study observes that young people as active citizens and through utilising individual agency have the capacity to drive their own innovations within the agricultural sector when awarded the platform, opportunity and support to do so. The study reveals that the young farmers are ‘millennials’ who use their youth agency to engage in social networking facilitated by use of social media as a powerful tool for unity and resistance against unfavourable farming environments. Lastly, two contradictory perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 emerge in this study, one of COVID-19 having presented opportunities for growth and success for the young farmers and another of the pandemic having further marginalized and disrupted the already struggling young farmers with both narratives being shaped directly and indirectly by the pre-existing structural challenges. Methodologically, empirical data was mostly gathered through face to face semi-structured interviews, focus groups and conversations with the young farmers with the remainder of interviews having been conducted virtually via Skype, WhatsApp chats and WhatsApp calls upon the emergence of COVID-19 which converged with this study. Participant observation occurred through attending farmers meetings, agriculture tours, engaging in some farming activities on some sites as well as being part of the young farmers WhatsApp group. The thesis also relied on published journals, statistical reports, media reports, policy documents as well as videos from the public hearings regarding the amendment of the South African Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation in order to bolster the empirical findings.
Justice as Recognition in the Ecological Community
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-06) Francis, Romain; Hamilton, Lawrence
This thesis postulates that an alternate mode of recognition is required to develop an authentic conception of justice that reconciles the subaltern’s desire for dignity with affording greater love, care, and respect for nature. Extant redistributive and recognitive justice frames within traditional western political theory and philosophy are strictly anthropocentric and restrict nature to a purely utilitarian function in the satisfaction of human needs. This maintains a moral hierarchy between humans and nature that perpetuates ecological injustice. Using decoloniality as both a method and critical analytical framework, this thesis develops and employs the coloniality of nature to illustrate that the continued destruction, exploitation, and disrespect for nature is fundamentally tied to the misrecognition of subaltern people. Misrecognition is a product of a deep-seated sociogenic problem of coloniality introduced during European colonisation, which consolidated the superior status of a hegemonic western subjectivity. Other experiences, knowledges, practices, and ways of articulating human-nature relations were rendered as non-scientific and superstitious and devoid of any value. The misrecognition of subaltern people denied humanity an opportunity to learn from other viewpoints and integrate them into an inclusive idea of justice where no single subjectivity assumes a dominant status. Centered on a decolonial love predicated on Fanon’s idea of “building the world of the You”, not the I, Us or We, this thesis draws on the principles of transculturalism and border thinking to promulgate a practical idea of justice as recognition in the context of an ecological community, that is more inclusive of other living and non-living entities. It advances a dialogical mode of recognition that attempts to achieve the following objectives: i) promote critical introspection amongst the subaltern to understand how their experience of (mis)recognition is connected to the destruction of nature, and how their attitudes towards nature were altered by the introduction of western modernity, capitalism and colonisation, ii) enable those social groups that are on the top of the ontological hierarchy to understand their role in such processes and how to address them, and iii) to demonstrate that increasing humanity’s love, care, and respect for nature is not possible without first addressing misrecognition between people.
The inability of peacekeeping to address Rwandan Congolese security dilemma
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-06-11) Kabwe, Muzinga Divine; Brosig, Malte
Rwanda’s involvement in the DRC is more intricate than that of the other actors. The Rwandan army has been battling the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a political-military movement which is active in the North and South Kivu provinces of the DRC. The presence of the FDLR in those provinces is problematic as it gives Rwanda a reason to continuously intervene in the DRC. . The reality is that historical issues will take a long time to resolve and that the peacebuilding process in the DRC cannot be tied to a timeline. The failings of the UN via MONUC and its successor MONUSCO have only served to reinforce this scepticism and sense of self-reliance in Kigali. Another consideration to add here is that Rwanda has become one of the top 10 providers of troops to UN peacekeeping missions, primarily operating in Darfur. Censuring Rwanda for its involvement in DR Congo could put this at risk, making UN and donor engagement with Rwanda politically more complex than just a case of whether to cut or maintain aid. The current interest by regional and international actors in the crisis provides an opportunity for laying a framework for the resolution of the underlying structural issues that have plagued the DRC for a long time.
What is ‘Black Tax’? : A Study of the Experiences and Understandings of ‘Black Tax’ amongst Young Black Professionals in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-07) Dube, Luthando Nolwazi; Ally, Shireen
‘Black Tax’ is a colloquial term used to refer to a system of extended kinship support which is prevalent in Black communities in South Africa. South Africa is a country characterised by high levels of racial inequality and unemployment, due to an extended history of European colonisation, apartheid, and their long-lasting effects. In this context, Black South Africans having a regular source of income has become rare enough to be considered a ‘privilege’ and for young Black professionals in particular, it comes with the responsibility to care for their families, both immediate and extended. As a result, young Black professionals have been described as the ‘sandwich generation’, stuck between supporting both present and past generations due to greater access to education and opportunities. This study sought to explore how young Black professionals experience and understand ‘Black Tax’ in South Africa. The study looked into the different ways in which Black professionals provide support and additionally, whether there is an expectation of such support, and how it is experienced and understood by them as the givers. A qualitative research approach formed the basis of this study, based on semi-structured, non-contact telephonic interviews with eight young Black professionals identified through the snowball sampling technique. Some results from this study found that young Black professionals narrate ‘Black Tax’ both as an obligatory expectation, and also as they frame it, as an extension of Ubuntu. The study demonstrates how ‘Black Tax’ consists of mainly two things: debt and obligations of reciprocity (paying back) and thanksgiving; or the expectation as a result of having experienced similar kindness (paying forward). ‘Black Tax’ is not limited to financial contributions alone and young Black professionals have categorised their ‘Black Tax’ to include mainly shared assets, financial, non-financial, and voluntary acts and not limited to emotional support. The findings suggest that young Black professionals in this study understand the context in which ‘Black Tax’ exists in South Africa and that their experience of it is shaped by the social standing of their families, which influences the manner in which they engage in the practice of ‘Black Tax’. Furthermore, although young Black professionals experience ‘Black Tax’ in different ways, it is clear that they face the same racialised experience; they thus have a unified Black experience (shared experience).
The Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Condom Consensus among Adolescents in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-07) Guambe, Malesedi Pokello; Frade, Sasha
Background: Evidence highlights that heterosexual condomless sex among adolescents aged 15 to 24 years is argued by the literature to be a contributor to the high HIV prevalence, STIs, and adolescent pregnancies. As South Africa seeks to reduce new HIV infections by approximately 80%, condom use is of paramount importance. This is due to the fact that condoms are a preventative method that can protect against HIV transmission, STIs and unwanted pregnancies. Previous studies have shown that mutual agreement about using a condom improves consistent condom use among sexual partners. This study therefore investigates the socio-demographic factors associated with condom consensus among adolescents in South Africa. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study, conducted using secondary data from the South African National HIV Prevalence, HIV Incidence, Behavior and Communication Survey (SABSSM) collected from January to December 2017. The study sampled 2 995 adolescents aged 15 to 24 years in South Africa. The software STATA 14 has been used to manage and analyze data. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe the characteristics of the study population. Cross-tabulation and Pearson Chi2 test were computed to test for association between socio-demographic factors and condom consensus. In order to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and condom consensus, binary logistic regression was used. Key Results: The study found condom accessibility and frequency of condom use to be significantly associated with condom consensus. Findings show that condom consensus was 0.457 less likely for adolescents who reported that condoms were not easily accessible, compared to adolescent with easier access. Statistical significance for condom accessibility is p=0.031. Furthermore, the likelihood of condom consensus for frequency of condom use was more likely (AOR,1.931; CI, 1.185-3.145) for adolescents who reported using condoms almost every-time and less likely (AOR, 0.563, CI, 0.379-0.798) for adolescents who used condoms sometimes. Main conclusion: This study found association for condom accessibility and condom consensus, as well as for frequency of condom use and condom consensus. For other socio-demographic factors there was no statistical significance with condom consensus. This study suggests that exposure of Social and Behavioral Change Communication programs needs to be increased among adolescents in South Africa. Central to reducing HIV infections, STIs, and adolescent pregnancy are programs that will influence behavior change among adolescents. At the core of such programs, there is a need for counselling on condom consensus and encouragement about not consuming alcohol before sexual intercourse. Additionally, these programs should make condom accessibility adolescent friendly, so as to encourage using condoms all the time as this is central to reducing new HIV infections, STIs, and adolescent pregnancy.
Violence and protest: A historical analysis of ‘violence’ and community protests in Bethanie, c. 1866 to 2018
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-10) Makena, Kefuoe Emmaculate; von Holdt, Karl; Lekgoathi, Sekibakiba P.
The Bakwena ba Mogopa are a community in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital of this community is Bethanie. In 2018, residents of Bakwena ba Mogopa embarked on a protest. This protest highlighted issues of unemployment, lack of service delivery and underdevelopment. For many, in particular young people, this protest was surprisingly militant. However, for the elders in the community, this reignited memories of the war of Mabidibidi from the late 1920s. This war was about the split of the Lutheran church which resulted in two separate churches, one being the ELCSA and BLC. Moreover, other elders argued that in the 1960s, the conflict within the traditional leadership was also Mabidibidi. This dissertation explores various protests and moments of contention that have manifested in Bethanie and have shaped this rather peaceful community. To provide context for these events, this dissertation looks at the history of Bethanie from 1866 till 2018. For a community that refers to itself as peaceful, perhaps given the events of spectacular protests that have taken place throughout South Africa, this case of Bethanie complicates some of the common understandings of how violent protests manifests.
Exploration of the Impact of Police Brutality during demonstrations on Public Trust: A case study of the Malawi Police Service in Malawi, 2010-2020
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-12) Chavula, Faith; Pakade, Nomancotsho; Duca, Federica
Police brutality during demonstrations has been a concern all around the world. Over the last decade, Malawi has recorded tens of violent demonstrations which have been associated with police brutality which has negatively affected an already declining public trust in the Malawi Police Service (MPS). This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate how police brutality during demonstrations has negatively affected public trust in the MPS. This study used semi-structured interviews and document analysis to collect data. This research study sampled twenty (20) respondents namely, citizens who had participated in demonstrations in the past decade, MPS officers, and members of Community Social Organisations (CSO’s) who had been organising different demonstrations in Malawi over the past decade. The major findings of this study are that there has been a political influence in the MPS which has led to the adoption of partisanship in the MPS. This has influenced police brutality especially during anti-government demonstrations. The study also found that the MPS have adopted a militarisation approach also known as an “us vs them” posture, where the police see the public as enemies and respond with excessive force during demonstrations. Due to this militarisation approach and police partisanship, there has been an impaired relationship between the citizens and the police which has resulted in a shift of public trust from the MPS to CSOs. Strategies and recommendations have also been explored to begin to address public trust in the MPS.
Eliminating Potentiality from Pure Powers
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Oswald, Matthew Egon Marshall; Coates, Ashley
I work to eliminate potentiality from the essences of pure powers, dispositions, by developing and defending a Megarian Actualist framework. I argue that the manifestations of fundamental natural powers are totally actual fields and that this enables me to avoid the Meinongian problem which affects traditional dispositionalist accounts. I adopt and defend Molnar’s view of manifestations and contributions and later I defend against criticisms against Megarian Actualism by Aristotle, Molnar and Bird. Finally, I conclude by demonstrating that Megarian Actualism can still preserve modality at large, despite endorsing a strict necessity relation between manifestation and disposition.
The role of Mzansi Magic’s ‘Makoti, Are You the One’ in facilitating gender discourses
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Vabaza, Ncumisa; Muparamoto, Nelson; Vanyoro, Kudzaiishe
The South African Bill of rights prohibits all forms of discrimination based on gender and sex. The government through the National Development Plan encourages stakeholder involvement in the promotion of gender equality. Yet, the experiences of women in various spheres reveal that normative patriarchal socialization persists. This research evaluates the role of local media in facilitating gender discourses that permeate modern-day South African society. This research employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) and critical diversity literacy (CDL) to interpret the dominant gender discourses on the locally produced reality television show Makoti Are You the One? CDA and CDL are used to interpret the representation techniques used to empower and disempower men and women respectively. The research adopts a qualitative research approach, specifically non-participatory observation to comprehend the dynamics in the relationships between the show’s male-female participants as well as the inter-group relationships between female participants on the show. Using discourse, framing and gender theories the study provides an understanding of the techniques used by the media in representing gender, and how these contribute to the co-construction of social meanings assigned to gender. The findings show a persistent imbalance in the representation of gender through local programming, by hegemonically positioning men in superior standing to women who are represented as subjects in their homes and the broader society. These imbalances are contrary to the ideals of gender equality.
In Search of Blackwomen’s Voices – Engendering South African Liberation Movement
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Rodwell, Karabo-Maya; Shange, Kholeka
The Black Consciousness Movement played a vital role in South Africa’s fight for liberation against the apartheid government. A significant part of this movement were the Black women that risked their lives for the country. Despite the work that they have all done and continue to do, Black women in this movement have faced multiple challenges related to their gender. I am interested in sharing the experiences of these women to add to the growing literature on the role and impact of Black women in South Africa’s history. To do this, I conducted interviews with six Black women over six months, between July 2022 and January 2023, all of whom have been involved in the Black Consciousness Movement. The participants in this research represent a small glimpse into the experiences of Black women in South African liberation movements. This research report follows the lived experiences of Black women in South Africa’s liberation movement, looking specifically at the Black Consciousness Movement. My research found that while each of these women were involved in the movement at different time periods, and in different areas of South Africa, many of their experiences overlap. I have broken these findings into three major themes. The first ethnographic chapter follows their early consciousness building and when they believe they came into consciousness. This chapter explores the formative years of Black women in the Black Consciousness Movement, namely who and or what influenced their political consciousness. The second ethnographic chapter examines Black women’s subjective interpretations of Black Consciousness and the impact this has on the self. While they were all part of the same movement they all seemed to have experienced the ideology differently. The third and final ethnographic chapter interrogates the marginalisation of Black women in the BCM. Here I discuss how women joined this structure for the emancipation of Black people at large, as well as connections to the ideology, and yet many felt that as women they were not always allowed the space to fully participate.
Adaptation strategies against drought: The case of rain-fed subsistence crop farmers in Mphego village in the Vhembe District of Limpopo province, South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Ntuli, Nokutenda Chantelle; Mukwedeya, Tatenda
South Africa’s Limpopo province is recognized as one of the drought prone regions of the country. Incessant droughts in Limpopo are compromising agricultural productivity in both the large-scale commercial and smallholder farming sectors. Regardless, smallholder farmers, especially those located in historically marginalized settings (former homeland areas) that experience socio-economic deprivation at the hands of the state, and practice rain-fed subsistence agriculture bear the disproportionate burden of drought. These farmers lack adequate finances, agri-mechanization as well as state support to sufficiently cushion them against drought. Such is the plight of rain-fed subsistence in Mphego village, a former homeland area of the Venda Bantustan now known as Vhembe district. This study contributes to understanding how drought is impacting the practices of rain-fed subsistence crop farmers in the rural community of Mphego. Attention is placed on investigating the ways in which drought intersects with existing politically engineered social and economic constraints experienced by subsistence farmers in Mphego village to exacerbate systemic vulnerabilities. Moreover, it explores the adaptation strategies that are being employed by these subsistence farmers to cope with drought impacts. Qualitative interviews were used to investigate these dynamics, and the data was analysed using the thematic approach. The results obtained from Mphego revealed that drought vulnerabilities experienced by subsistence farmers should be understood in light of other converging state orchestrated socio-economic structures of deprivation in local rural communities that shape outcomes in the smallholder agricultural sector. The state is contributing to the expansion of agri-capitalist practices and its drought relief support is biased towards large-scale commercial farmers at the expense of subsistence livelihoods. Given these circumstances, subsistence farmers in Mphego have been employing their own agency to adapt to drought conditions. The livelihood capitals possessed by the farmers were found to play a significant role in influencing and shaping their choice of adaptation practices.
Food sovereignty and the agrarian question in South Africa: Class Dynamics and Collective Agency from Below
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Bennie, Andrew Govan; Williams, Michelle
In South Africa – one of the most unequal countries in the world – patterns of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition exist in conjunction with a dominant agro-food system that is highly modernised, commercialised and globally integrated, and includes a deeply unequal agrarian structure. Globally, there has been an upsurge in movement organising around the ecological and social impacts of the corporate food system. One of the most prominent political responses has been the food sovereignty movement. The politics of food sovereignty, however, is ultimately grounded and constituted in situated national and local contexts. The research for this thesis therefore sought to understand the nature of civil society organising from below in South Africa in response to the various inequalities of the agro-food system (the ‘food movement’), with which the global discourse and practice of food sovereignty articulates. I therefore argue that there is an emergent ‘food movement’ in South Africa whose character (and limits) reflects its construction through historical and ongoing conjunctural, contingent and contextual relationships between the agrarian and national questions, political struggles under national oppression, and the social, economic and ecological contradictions of national liberation in the post-apartheid order. The thesis is grounded in the conceptual frame of the agrarian question, a critical agrarian political economy approach that has principally been concerned with the relationship between agriculture and capitalism, the class relations within agriculture, and the associated politics arising out of the agrarian question. It is situated in the agrarian debate on food sovereignty, broadly construed as that between ‘agrarian populism’ and ‘agrarian Marxism’. It adopts a materialist analysis that is combined with historical and political specificity, open to the ways in which political agency is an important factor shaping the course of agrarian change. The research adopted a qualitative approach framed by Michael Burawoy’s extended case study method combined with elements of Gillian Hart’s method of relational comparison. Data was gathered primarily through an analysis of secondary and primary literature, extensive interviews, participant observation, and two case studies. To understand the terrain of food organising from below, the thesis examines the historically conjunctural, contingent and contextual processes that both underpinned the formation of the dominant agro-food system and to which that system contributed. It does this by weaving the history of food and hunger to the history of class formation, political resistance and organising, and larger historical developments. This sets the scene for understanding the origins and nature of the contemporary ‘food movement’ in South Africa. A typology shows that the array of organising around food and the agro-food system today falls along a continuum between justice-centred and food-centred conceptions of change in the food system, and that they cohere around lifestyle, organic, food justice and transformative politics. Importantly, these types should be understood through a longer history of varying political responses to national oppression and the evolving agrarian question, and to the continuities, limits and opportunities of national liberation. The thesis also analyses how these relational categories play out in specific local agrarian contexts of working class communities, showing that the form they take in a given context is shaped by the articulation of a number of conditions and factors. This is done through an examination of the political intersections between agriculture and the struggle against proposed mining in Amadiba in the Eastern Cape Province, and efforts by a smallholder farmer association in Limpopo Province to advance a food sovereignty politics through agroecology. I show that material socio-ecological conditions in situated contexts play an important role in shaping the form, potential and limits of agro-food politics, including patterns of differentiation, hegemonic state-society relationships, and fragmentation of subaltern classes. However, I show that the possibilities for transformative agro-food politics are also contingent on articulations between political histories and practices, the role of the state, and the nature of alliances. I conclude with the need to view food sovereignty not only through a structural lens of an endpoint and blueprint for food production and distribution, but also in terms of how its impulses might (or might not) contextually and conjuncturally connect with efforts to build transformative politics that seek non-alienated production and living, distributional justice, and the secure socio-ecological reproduction of life and living labour.
Nationalism Without a State: A Comparative Analysis of Revolutionary Nationalism Among Stateless Nations
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mayet, Humairaa; Zähringer, Natalie
A political philosophy employed by nationalist groups and parties, revolutionary nationalism, is used to resist the established order and achieve political goals. It is especially prevalent when power is held by a group or party which attempts to oppress and stifle certain identities and nationalities while enabling others. Revolutionary nationalism has been practiced by the people of Palestine and Western Sahara, both when they resisted against their European colonisers, Britain and Spain, and today, as they resist against their occupiers, Israel and Morocco. Forms of resistance practices include popular and organised resistance, as well as violent and nonviolent resistance. Similarities and differences emerge when analysing how each of these occupied populations attempted to resist through means of revolutionary nationalism and these can be examined and compared. Revolutionary nationalism often goes hand-in-hand with the expression of the right to self-determination, the highest form of which is statehood. The aim of this research report is to discern whether or not the practices of revolutionary nationalism give rise to self-determination, even though it has been proven that, in the post-Cold War era, they do not give rise to statehood.
Phenomena in the therapeutic setting when treating clients with gender-related Body dysphoria
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Coleman, David; Bain, Katherine
This study explored psychotherapists’ experiences of somatic phenomena, in relation to their own bodies, when treating clients with significant gender-related body dysphoria within the treatment setting. It also examined their experiences and deeper understandings of somatic transference and countertransference within the analytic frame when working with this particular client profile. The various resistance mechanisms deployed by such clients were also explored as well as the ways in which psychotherapists may be resistant to working more closely with their own somatic countertransference. A qualitative approach to research was in order to generate meaning and understanding through rich material. An interpretivist paradigm was employed whose ontology examines the perceptions and experiences of therapists who have treated clients with significant gender-related body dysphoria. Therapists’ experiences of somatic countertransference phenomena were varied and inconsistent. More than half of the therapists reported the experiencing of sensations including nausea, headaches, restriction of the chest and experiences of drowsiness. Some therapists could not recall any experiences of somatic countertransference and demonstrated a tendency to minimize, deny or disavow somatic phenomena.
Women in Union Leadership: A case study of the Ghana Public Service Workers’ Union (PSWU.
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Eva, Oteng; Sefalafa, Thabang
This research examines the extent to which affirmative policies (gender mainstreaming, gender equality) lead to substantive improvements in the position of women within the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) in Ghana. The research data for this study was collected using two methods: An online survey that focused on the experience and perceptions of 46 women leaders in the National Executive Council (NEC). The research is a mixed method in the sense that it generated both qualitative and quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews online with 7 key stakeholders, including women and men, in the national office. Data was triangulated to deal with issues of validity and reliability. Analysis is framed under how the equality plan has been implemented in PSWU and the challenges in terms of women’s leadership efforts in decision-making. It was observed that improvement in women participation in the union is because of gender mainstreaming policy and interventions. This proves an argument in a similar study by Britwun et al (2014) that when women are significantly represented in leadership especially in the mainstream there is a possibility of achieving negotiations for women related issues that is perceived as cost to the organisation. This cost includes childcare facilities and additional maternal/paternal leave (Britwum et al 2014). The survey also projects that there are women leaders who play double roles in the union and at home which affects performances and contributions to union affairs as stated by Kirton and Healy (2008,4) in their research stated that “paid work and work in the home constitute a ‘double burden’ and trade union participation (and other such voluntary activities) adds another ‘burden’ for many women''. The trend of domestic or household responsibilities should be carefully studied and used as a tool to address the issue of women’s lack of interest and commitment to union activities and other leadership roles. iii In this regard, increase in women's representation increases women’ consciousness about their demands and strives to realize them.

Browse

Browsing School of Social Sciences (ETDs) by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options